2016 in the New River Valley, Ranked!
Although this list is far from comprehensive, we hope that it gives you a good overview of how the New River Valley stacked up against the rest of the country (and world!) in 2016.
Safety First
• Blacksburg (#6) and Christiansburg (#11) were ranked by Backgroundchecks.org as two of the top 25 Safest Cities in Virginia.Happiness Counts
• Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Floyd, and Pulaski all earned top awards in Blue Ridge Country magazine’s Happiest Town in the Blue Ridge survey.• Christiansburg was ranked #3 Happiest City in Virginia by OnlyInYourState.com.
• WTKR rated Blacksburg the #7 Best City for Singles.
• Southern Living listed Floyd among its Best Small Towns.
• Forbes called Blacksburg a Top 25 Best Place to Retire.
• Pulaski rang in at #10 on the Best Small Towns That Offer Peace and Quiet.
Leading Metro
• AIER named the a Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford MSA #19 Top College Town.• In its Leading Locations survey, Area Development Magazine ranked the MSA as #30 overall and #12 among mid-sized metros.
• The MSA ranked #4 overall and #2 among mid-sized metros in Area Development’s Prime Workforce rankings.
• The Milken Institute recognized the MSA as #41 out of 201 small metro areas.
Tech-Savvy
• Blacksburg was named one of the Best Tech Hubs in Virginia by Southern Business & Development Magazine.• Southern Business & Development Magazine also named Montgomery County as one of the Best Data Center Locations in Virginia.
• NaCo ranked Montgomery County the #4 Top Digital County for counties with populations under 150,000.
College Town Love
• Garden & Gun ranked Blacksburg as the #1 Southern College Town.• Southern Living’s Facebook fans awarded Blacksburg the #1 College Town.
• WalletHub gave Blacksburg the #27 ranking and Radford the #90 ranking out of 202 college towns.
Get Outside
• Singletracks.com named Blacksburg the Mountain Bike Capital of Virginia.• Canoe & Kayak Magazine named Pembroke one of America’s (Next Best) Paddling Towns.
• Fox News called Floyd Fest the #7 Hottest Music Festival in the U.S.
• LifeOutside Magazine recognized both Pulaski and Floyd as top Weekend Getaways in Southwest Virginia.
• Blueridge Outdoors magazine listed the Flat Peter/Dixon Branch Loop in Giles as a Top 10 Fall Foliage Favorite.
Top Tier Colleges & Universities
• Princeton Review ranked Virginia Tech as having the #1 Best Quality of Life and the #7 Happiest Students, among others.• Washington Monthly Magazine dubbed Radford University a Best Bang for Your Buck school.
• New River Community College was named one of Virginia’s Best Community Colleges for Workforce Training by Southern Business & Development Magazine.
• Giles County was awarded the NaCo 2016 Achievement Award for its Access to Community College Education program.
• Virginia Tech ranked #9 in Research Expenditures by the National Science Foundation.
If you’d like to stay up-to-date with the latest rankings for the New River Valley, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram!
About Us:
Virginia’s New River Valley is a vibrant community that’s home to two state universities, Virginia Tech and Radford University, and a diverse industry base ranging from large international corporations to small technology startups. The region is designated the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area and encompasses the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and the city of Radford.
The New River Valley Economic Development Alliance is a public/private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to market the New River Valley, to foster job creation, facilitate new investment and to improve the quality of life in the region.
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